In the lauded
Faith of the Founders
, revered historian
Edwin Gaustad provides a careful consideration of the developing relationship between religion and the state after the American Revolution. With concise focus on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and John Adams, Gaustad identifies seven varying—sometimes contrary—perspectives on religion that guided the nation's founders. Faith of the Founders masterfully shows how these figures possessed an intuitive understanding of religion that helped nourish a young country. Repackaged for a new generation of readers and with a new foreword by Randall Balmer, this brief but insightful book offers a look into the founding fathers' genius—and points to a way forward through the ideological boundaries that threaten to upend the daily doings of American government today.